Since Buchanan is the only President of the United States
to never marry, there has of late been abundant speculation about his sexual
orientation. There is no evidence to support any conclusion in that regard, and in any
event, there is no indication that this would have affected his judgement as
President.
Buchanan was brilliant, and had a distinguished
career in government before he became President. He served five terms in the House of
Representatives and ten years in the Senate. He also served as Ambassador to Russia and
later to Great Britain under Franklin Pierce. There is some argument that because he was
out of the country, he had managed to avoid the intense sectional debate which had
roiled the nation, and was therefore an obvious choice for the Democratic
nomination.
As President, Buchanan failed to realize the
depth of sectional controversy. As President-elect, he had hoped the Supreme Court would
settle the controversy over slavery in the territories; but was proved seriously wrong
when the court issued its decision in Dred Scot vs. Sanford within
days of his inauguration.
Congress remained at a stalemate
during his administration, and like Pierce and Filmore before him, any decision he made
angered a substantial element in his own party. During the interregnum from Lincoln's
election to his inauguration, South Carolina and other states announced their secession
from the union. Buchanan denied they had the right to do so; but at the same time held
that the Federal Government did not have the right to stop them. After leaving office,
he retired from politics completely and lived only another seven
years.
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